Dumbledore's Army
by RavenclawWhovian
Summary: I stood. We weren't beaten. We weren't beaten by a long shot. After all, Snape had forgotten one crucial detail, one enemy that he hadn't taken care of: us. "I'm going to do it," I said aloud. "I'm going to restart Dumbledore's Army."
1. Chapter 1: Neville

**I'm sure there are a lot of fanfictions out there with this same premise, but I really wanted to write one. Please tell me what you think! Thanks for reading! **_  
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_Chapter 1_

_Neville_

The platform was the same as it had always been. The red engine, the chattering crowd, the clouds of smoke-all of it the same as when I first stepped onto Platform 9 and ¾ exactly six years ago.

But everything was different now.

My grandmother's voice snapped me out of my moment of nostalgia. "Have everything, Neville?"

I nodded. Then Gran did something that she hadn't done at all the first 14 years of my life, but lately seemed to be doing quite a bit: pulled me into a tight hug. "Take care of yourself," she said.

Everyone knew who our new headmaster was: Severus Snape, the man who we had all trusted and who had betrayed us. The man who had murdered Albus Dumbledore. Everyone knew that we had two Death Eaters as teachers. I was going right into the lion's den.

Gran patted me on the shoulder. "You look like your father, Neville. You have all his courage, too. I must say, I wasn't sure you belonged in Gryffindor at first, but now I know you do. You'd make them both proud."

"I try."

"I know you do."

The whistle blew. Gran turned and walked back toward the barrier.

I climbed onto the train and was just beginning to load my things into an empty compartment when I noticed a flash of red hair out of the corner of my eye. "Hi, Ginny," I greeted my friend.

"Hey, Neville," Ginny said morosely.

I glanced over at her. "What's wrong? Where are Ron and Harry?"

"Ron has spattergroit," she said casually. "I don't know where Harry is."

I raised an eyebrow. "Really..."

She glanced around, pulled me into the compartment, and shut the door. "Bill and Fleur's wedding was attacked by Death Eaters last month. No one's seen Harry, Ron, or Hermione since," she said in a low, fast voice.

I stared at her in shock. "Are they okay?"

Ginny shrugged. "I think so... no one tells me anything, but it seems like they were making preparations beforehand. I think they planned to leave."

I nodded. "It makes sense, especially Harry. He can't possibly come back to Hogwarts now that he's a wanted man."

The compartment door slid open. Ginny and I both looked up at the girl with long blonde hair, earrings shaped like carrots, the latest issue of _The Quibbler_ under her arm, and her wand stuck behind her ear.

"Hi, Luna," Ginny said.

"Hello," she said dreamily.

The train lurched forward. Luna quickly sank down into the seat next to Ginny.

The three of us spent the entire ride up to Hogwarts speculating about the whereabouts of Harry, Ron, and Hermione, discussing Voldemort's takeover, and wondering about what lay in store for us at Hogwarts.

"It's going to be like Umbridge all over again," I said, shaking my head. "Only worse. At least Umbridge wasn't a Death Eater."

"Well, we're not just going to take this lying down!" Ginny got to her feet, pacing the carriage. "We have to fight it! Remember Dumbledore's Army? Remember the battle last year? We have to fight for our home!"

I shook my head. "Ginny, wait. We'd have no chance. They'd stomp us out in an instant."

"Do you think we should just let them destroy everything we care about?"

"We don't even know that's what they plan on doing!"

"They're Death Eaters! It's what they do!"

"We'd be killed!"

Suddenly, Luna spoke. "What if we just...wait?"

Ginny and I both looked at her. "What do you mean?" I asked.

"Don't say anything, don't mark yourself as a target. Let's just keep our heads down, at least for a few weeks."

Ginny and I looked at each other. "Okay," we said in unison. It was a smart plan. There was a reason Luna was a Ravenclaw.

The door to the compartment slid open, and a familiar sandy-haired head poked through the opening. Seamus Finnigan was already wearing his Hogwarts robes. "You three had better hurry up and get dressed, we're almost there."

"Seamus!" Ginny smiled. "How are you? How was your summer?"

Seamus smiled grimly. "Not the best I've had. But I imagine yours wasn't much better." He glanced around, shutting the door behind him. "Dean's on the run."

"Why?" I asked.

"Muggle-born, remember?. I imagine Hogwarts will be a little short this year. Even some of the wizarding families are choosing to keep their kids at home."

The four of us rode a thestral-pulled carriage together, not saying much.

I peered out the window up at the castle. It looked the same as always-until I saw a dark shape swoop in front of the lighted windows of Hogwarts.

I sucked in my breath and instinctively reached for my wand.

Immediately, Ginny, Luna, and Seamus drew their wands as well. "What is it? What's wrong?"

I pointed up at the castle. "Dementors."

"In Hogwarts?" Seamus asked incredulously.

"Makes sense," said Ginny bitterly. "They can't have us getting too happy."

The carriages pulled up to the doors of the castle and we all got out. Some people-mostly Slytherins, I noticed-didn't seem to be bothered by the unusual mist or the Dementors swooping around. But everyone else was guarded and uncomfortable. I noticed more than one drawn wand.

As we walked toward the door, I noticed the Dementors coming closer and closer. As they did, the students of Hogwarts began to huddle close together. Some of the younger students looked terrified. I was glad that the first years were with Hagrid in the boat.

Seamus raised his voice. "Everyone, hurry up!" he shouted over the frightened chatter. "You'll be okay once you're in the castle!"

Suddenly, three of the Dementors swooped in toward our group. Several people screamed. At the same time, I heard two familiar voices shout, "EXPECTO PATRONUM!"

Two silver animals-a dolphin and a golden retriever-soared over our heads and ran at the Dementor. I smiled, recognizing the Patronuses of Padma and Parvati Patil.

Now, shouts of "Expecto Patronum" were echoing all around. I recognized several of them-Ernie Macmillan's boar, Colin Creevey's squirrel, Lavender Brown's sea turtle, and others.

The Dementors were beaten back by about ten Patronuses hovering in the air. Meanwhile, everyone ran for the doors.

Just as the doors swung closed behind us, several teachers appeared, including Flitwick and Sprout.

"About time you got here!" snapped Seamus. "It's bad enough having Dementors swooping around without them trying to attack us!"

Flitwick looked uncomfortable. "Terribly sorry, terribly sorry. You weren't in any danger, we were on our way! Please, come on into the Great Hall."

I looked around at the mass of students. We had all huddled together when the Dementors came, regardless of houses, years, or anything else. Now, we were starting to split apart again. Gradually, the familiar chatter came back, but much more subdued than ever before.

We took our seats in the Great Hall. I looked up at Snape, sitting in Dumbledore's chair, and hatred filled my heart. Looking over at Ginny and Seamus (Luna had already gone to sit with the Ravenclaws), I could tell that they were thinking the same thing.

The first years filed in from a side door. They looked nervous, even more nervous than I remember being at my Sorting.

Professor McGonagall carried in the Sorting Hat and set it on the stool. I studied Professor McGonagall's face. She looked drawn and worried, far more so than I ever remembered her being.

She glanced over at Ginny, Seamus, and I. I tried to smile. She just shook her head slightly and looked away.

As I was pondering what this meant, the Sorting Hat opened the rip near its brim and began to speak.

"_In the darkest of times_

_The Houses must-"_

"Silencio!"

The Hat continued to speak for a moment, but no sound was coming out. After a moment, it stopped.

"I don't believe the poem will be necessary," said Snape coldly, his wand still pointed at the Hat. "Proceed with the Sorting."

Professor McGonagall, scowling at Snape, began to call out the names of students. There were much fewer than in other years, and a disproportionate number of Slytherins. I supposed that the letter hadn't even gone out the the muggle-borns, and that some parents of half-bloods had chosen to hide their children rather than send them to Death-Eater controlled Hogwarts.

When the Sorting was over, Snape stood up. He looked out over all of us. "As you have probably noticed, there have been some changes in staff this year. Alecto Carrow will be teaching Muggle Studies, which everyone is required to take," he said, gesturing to the dark-haired woman sitting on his left. "And Amycus Carrow will teaching the class that was formerly known as Defense Against the Dark Arts, and is now called Dark Arts."

The Great Hall erupted into commotion.

I stared at Ginny. "Dark Arts? They're going to make us-"

"SILENCIO!" Snape bellowed.

The words froze in my mouth. The entire hall went silent as everyone looked back up at Snape.

"Alecto and Amycus will also be in charge of defense. Please remember that anything they say, goes. Any curse they choose to use, any punishment they wish to enact, anything they want to do is at their discretion. Treat any order from their mouth as if it was from mine. Help them in any way they ask, whatever that involves. One of the new things we're going to try is having 6th and 7th year students practicing curses on people who-"

"And what if we refuse?"

All heads in the room swiveled in our direction. Seamus Finnigan had jumped up on the bench, his face red as he shouted at Snape.

"Sit down, Mr. Finnigan," Snape said, his voice colder than ice.

"No! I won't sit down! Not as long as you are planning to hurt the students of Hogwarts!"

"I said, sit down!"

"NEVER!"

"STUPEFY!" A jet of red light shot from the end of Amycus Carrow's wand and hit Seamus in the center of his chest. Seamus was blasted backward off the bench, flew through the air, and lay crumpled in the middle of the stone floor.

Parvati Patil was the first to move. Her silky black hair streaming behind her, she ran to Seamus's side and dropped to her knees beside him. "He's still alive!" she cried, her voice full of relief.

Amycus Carrow was laughing, a low, maniacal sound. Back at the head table, McGonagall and Snape were having a furious, if muffled, argument.

Ginny and I jumped up and ran over to Seamus and Parvati, joining the circle that several other students were forming a circle around them. I noticed Lavender Brown, Michael Corner, Anthony Goldstein, and others. Hannah Abbott caught my gaze from across the circle. Her beautiful blue eyes were huge and frightened, but her fists were clenched in determination.

A murmur of conversation was arising in our little circle-a mix of concern for Seamus and hatred for Snape and the Carrows.

An idea sparked in the back of my mind. Maybe...just maybe...

"ENOUGH!" Snape yelled. "Hagrid, take Mr. Finnigan down to Madam Pomfrey at the hospital wing. The rest of you, return to your seats."

None of us moved until Hagrid had lifted Seamus in his strong arms. "Don' worry about Seamus. I'll see he gets safe to Madam Pomfrey."

I nodded. "Thanks, Hagrid."

Slowly, we trickled back to our seats. Snape continued to talk, laying down rule after rule. No talking in the corridors. No being outside your dormitory after 7. There were more, but I wasn't really paying attention. Then, the food appeared.

I barely ate anything. A few seats away, Parvati was crying, her head buried in her hands. Lavender had an arm around her shoulders, trying to comfort her. For once, Colin Creevey wasn't taking pictures or chattering, but just sitting, quietly. Next to me, Ginny was picking at her food, looking lost in thought.

I looked over at the Hufflepuff table. Hannah Abbott, Ernie Macmillan, and Susan Bones had their heads close together, talking and occasionally shooting guilty glances around the hall, as if they were doing something wrong. At the Ravenclaw table, Terry Boot seemed to be emphatically talking to Anthony Goldstein and Padma Patil about something. Meanwhile, Michael Corner was studying Snape and the Carrows as they talked at the head table. Luna was staring off into space, not really paying attention to any of them.

The idea in my head continued to grow, and grow.

I walked back up to the dormitory with Colin, Ginny, Parvati, and Lavender. None of us said much. The absence of Harry, Ron, Hermione, Seamus, and Dean was pronounced among us.

The five of us stood just inside the door of the common room for a few minutes, in the middle of the stream of students going up to their dormitories.

"Try to keep your heads down." Ginny said. "That's the only way we're going to get through this. Don't do anything too...outspoken. We don't want any repeats of what happened to Seamus. Try to help the younger students, too. Just...have faith. We're going to be okay."

All of us nodded in agreement.

"See you tomorrow, then."

"Tomorrow," we echoed, and split off toward our respective dormitories.

I stood in the center of my dormitory and looked around at the four empty bunks. Seamus: lying injured in the hospital wing. Dean: on the run. Harry: a wanted outlaw. Ron: missing in action. I was the last one left.

I sank down on my bed, head in my hands. Images kept flashing through my mind: Seamus lying crumpled on the floor, Snape sitting in Dumbledore's chair, dementors attacking a huddle of frightened students, Amycus laughing maniacally. Hogwarts was lost. Everything was lost.

But then other images came into my mind: Seamus yelling at Snape, Patronuses chasing the dementors away, Parvati kneeling beside Seamus, McGonagall fighting with Snape, Ginny telling everyone to hang together.

I stood. We weren't beaten. We weren't beaten by a long shot. After all, Snape had forgotten one crucial detail, one enemy that he hadn't taken care of: us.

"I'm going to do it," I said aloud.

"I'm going to restart Dumbledore's Army."


	2. Chapter 2: Ginny

**Here's Chapter 2! I probably won't post another until the end of the month. Tell me what you think! Thanks for reading! **_  
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_Chapter 2_

_Ginny_

I sat in the back row of the History of Magic classroom on the first day of sixth year, half-listening to Professor Binns drone on and on about legislation on the collection of Unicorn hairs passed from 1756-1760.

I was supposed to be taking notes, but it had quickly turned into a detailed sketch of a boy in Quidditch robes-a tall, skinny boy with messy black hair, glasses, and the cutest, happiest smile.

Chin in hand, I looked down at my picture and sighed. I missed Harry so much it made my stomach hurt. If he was here, he'd know what to do. Whenever anything seemed hopeless, Harry was always there to save the day. But now he had left us.

Of course it wasn't his fault, I knew that-he couldn't possibly come back to Hogwarts now. And I'd known it was coming-I'd seen how he and Ron and Hermione kept trying to sneak off and talk to each other in the days leading up to the wedding. Of course I'd known he was leaving. I'd made sure to give him something to remember me by, too, on his birthday...

Before I knew it, class was over. I slipped out of my daydream, gathered my things, and walked into the eerily quiet corridor.

Usually, the halls of Hogwarts were full of chatter. But now, everyone was quiet. The only talk was whispers, and even this was snuffed out as I walked past Alecto Carrow, who stood surveying the corridor with a pleased smile on her face.

As I turned the corner and walked toward Transfiguration, someone hissed "Ginny!" right into my ear.

I jumped. "Merlin's pants, Neville!" I whispered back, scanning the corridor. "Don't do that!"

"Sorry. But I've been trying to catch you all morning. We need to talk."

I chanced a sideways look at Neville. He looked determined, and there was a fire in his eyes that no one in this school would ever have thought to associate with Neville Longbottom. For a moment, I mused over how much he had changed in the past two years-ever since the D.A. in my fourth year, he had gained so much confidence and courage. Or had he had them all along? "Talk? Okay, where?"

Neville didn't answer for a moment. I figured he was scanning the corridor. In a voice so low I barely caught it, he breathed, "Room of Requirement."

"When?"

"Dinner. Try to slip away. Oh, and don't you have potions with the Ravenclaws?"

I nodded affirmation.

"Could you tell Luna to meet us?"

I nodded again. "But what's this-"

"No talking in the corridors," said an oily voice right behind us. Neville and I both spun around to find Filch staring at us and smiling. "Should call Professor Carrow, I should. We have to show everyone what the rules are, don't we?"

Everyone in the corridor was watching now. "Mr. Filch, we-" Neville began, but he was cut off by a loud CRASH from down the corridor.

Filch swung around. "PEEVES!" he bellowed. I caught a glimpse of the poltergeist hovering above the toppled suit of armour before he sped off, cackling. Filch hurried off after him, waving his fist in the air.

Neville and I exchanged incredulous glances. "Did Peeves really just...save us?" I asked.

Neville shook his head in amazement. "Maybe it was just a coincidence."

"Maybe..." I couldn't help remembering the last words Fred had spoken in Hogwarts, and how Peeves had obeyed them. Maybe Peeves had finally chosen a side. "Come on. Let's get to class before anything else happens."

"I know that things are a little different than what you remember," Professor McGonagall said. "And I'm sorry about that. But you are too old to let an entire year of your education go to waste. You are N.E.W.T. students now, and the work is going to get much harder. So: will you please form a single file line in front of the table. When it is your turn, transform it into an animal of your choice and back into a table."

"Typical McGonagall," I muttered to Colin Creevey as we gathered our things. "Voldemort could be knocking on the door and she'd still want to prepare us for our N.E.W.T.s. At this rate, there won't even be N.E.W.T.s by the time we're supposed to take them."

We walked down into the dungeons for Potions. Before last year, I had dreaded Potions-really, who hadn't? But Professor Slughorn was much more likeable than Snape. I was even beginning to like Potions.

Luna and I had the cauldron to ourselves, which made things a lot simpler. Professor Slughorn gave us our instructions for brewing a complicated Warming Potion.

"Pass me the horned slugs, would you, Ginny?" Luna asked.

"Luna, we're supposed to meet Neville in the Room of Requirement during dinner," I muttered, pretending to be leaning over her to get the Spines of Lionfish.

"Ooh, sorry Ginny, can't," Luna said breezily.

I stared at her, completely abandoning my pretense. "What do you mean, you can't? Neville sounded like it was really important!"

"Yes, but I have to send an owl to Daddy as soon as I can. I was looking out the window during Charms, and I'm positive I saw a Heliopath in the forest! Daddy absolutely must know-I mean, Heliopaths at Hogwarts? That's even more surprising than the Dementors!"

"Luna..." I stared at her helplessly. I knew better than to ask what in the name of Merlin's saggy left sock a "Heliopath" was. "Listen, Luna, why don't you bring your parchment and quill with you? You can write to him while we talk."

Luna seemed to consider this, then shrugged. "All right. Would you add the Valerian Sprigs while I crush the Unicorn Horn?"

We spent the rest of the period whispering to each other about an odd mix of potions, Death Eaters, and Heliopaths. When class was finally over, our potion was oozing purple smoke and not looking a bit like it was supposed to.

By dinner, I was starving, but as everyone else headed for the Great Hall, Luna and I slipped away and headed for the Room of Requirement.

I hadn't been here since fourth year, but I remembered exactly how to get there. While Luna kept watch, I paced back and forth in front of the tapestry three times, thinking to myself, We need a room where we can meet Neville, we need a room where we can meet Neville, we need a room where we can meet Neville. A door opened in the wall, and Luna and I darted through.

I smiled as I recognized the room that we always used for the D.A. Neville was already there, sitting cross-legged on a cushion, absorbed in a book.

He closed it as we came in and smiled up at us. "Hey."

"Hey," I echoed, glancing down at his book. "Dangerous Plants of Britain?"

Neville shrugged. "They could make great defenses!"

I rolled my eyes. "Tell me that wasn't what you wanted to talk to us about."

"It wasn't." Suddenly, Neville looked serious. Luna and I sat down beside him. Luna pulled out her parchment and quill and began her letter to her father as Neville looked at both of us and took a deep breath. "I think we should restart Dumbledore's Army."

"Yeah!" I said enthusiastically. "Neville, that's a great idea! If all of us banded together, we could totally stand up to Snape!"

"Really?" Neville seemed surprised. "Because I don't know...after all, it'd be pretty dangerous...I mean, look what happened to Seamus!"

"Well obviously we wouldn't pull any crazy stunts! We'd have to work more underground. Anthony Goldstein-you remember him? Ravenclaw, your year?-he's great at coming up with plans and stuff like that! I'm sure he'd join the D.A. if it started up again! And there's more we could get, too-Seamus, Colin, Lavender, Parvati, Hannah, Ernie, Michael-all the old crowd!"

Neville still looked doubtful. "Are you sure they'd want to? I mean, if Snape or the Carrows found us out-"

"Neville, you do remember that this was all your idea?" I laughed. "It'll be brilliant! I can't believe I didn't think of this!"

"Neville, what's wrong?" Luna asked more gently, putting her hand on his arm.

"It's just...this seemed like a good idea last night, and even this morning! But if someone gets hurt, it'll be our fault."

"People are going to get hurt whether we do something or not," I pointed out.

"Not if we all just keep our heads down. This would just be provoking the Carrows. If we just do what they want-"

"Who are you, and what have you done with Neville Longbottom?" I interrupted. "Nev, you heard what they said! They want to teach us Dark Arts! They want to make us torture each other! Are you just going to lie down and listen to them?"

"No, but-"

"We have to stand up to them! This will be the perfect way; a way for us to stand united rather than on our own!"

"But-"

"I don't understand why you don't want to do this, Neville! It's the only thing we can do! It's the-"

"Ginny, shut up!" Luna snapped.

Taken aback by this completely un-Luna-like sentence, I stared at her in silence. She ignored me and turned to Neville. "What happened, Neville?"

"Alecto Carrow hit Lavender with a Tongue-Tying Curse during Muggle Studies when she pointed out that many famous wizards are muggle-born. Lavender couldn't talk properly for the rest of class, and left the room in tears when Pansy Parkinson started making fun of her."

"Well, at least she wasn't hurt," said Luna.

"Yes, but Carrow cursed her when she didn't even do anything that bad! They're harsh-even worse than Umbridge. If we started deliberately defying them...well...I don't want Ha-anyone to get hurt because they're in the D.A."

I smiled gently. "But don't you see, Neville? We're willing to risk it. You wouldn't mind getting cursed for the D.A., would you?"

"No."

"And neither would anyone else. All we're doing is providing the opportunity."

Neville nodded slowly. "Alright. But how are we going to get the word out to everyone?"

"Well, that's obvious," said Luna serenely, not even looking up from her paper. "We'll use the coins, of course."

I reached into the pocket of my robes and drew out a golden Galleon. It was the only Galleon I had, and it was more special to me than any normal Galleon could be. "I thought Hermione was the only one who could modify the numbers on it, though."

Luna smiled. "I'm rather good at Charms, and I think I could do this one. I can do words, too, if you want."

"Does everyone still have theirs?" Neville asked.

"Probably," I said. "We all wanted to remember the D.A. Or we could just send out a message using these and talk to whoever doesn't show up."

Neville nodded. "That sounds good."

"So are we agreed?" I asked.

Neville gave a firm nod. Luna glanced up from her letter. "What should I put on the Galleons?" she asked as she took out her Galleon and pulled her wand from behind her ear.

"Put: D.A. reformed. Meet Saturday at 3, same place as before," Neville said.

"Saturday?" I said, dismayed. "That's four more days!"

"Which will give people enough time to think if they really want to join," said Neville firmly.

I nodded reluctantly.

"There!" Luna said. "Done!"

Sure enough, I felt my Galleon grow hot in my hand.

Neville glanced up at the clock that was hanging on the wall. "We've only got twenty minutes to get back to our common rooms before curfew. I bet Filch would just love to catch us out past seven."

We left the Room of Requirement cautiously, but didn't meet up with anyone until we headed for the Great Hall. Luna left for the Owlery while Neville and I ducked into the Great Hall to grab a bite to eat. Inside the Hall, there was a cautious murmur of conversation, but outside it, everyone was quiet.

Neville and I grabbed a drumstick each and headed for the Common Room. "Epipski!" Neville said to the Fat Lady, and we stepped inside.

The Gryffindor Common Room was abuzz with talk, people comparing notes on the day's events, talking about the Carrows and Snape, muttering angrily about punishments.

Immediately, we were accosted by Lavender and Parvati, both holding their Galleons in their hands.

"Are you the ones restarting the D.A?" Parvati asked excitedly.

"Shhhh!" Neville and I hissed at the same time.

"Yes, but don't go shouting about it!" I said. "We'll talk about it later!"

A voice came out of nowhere, echoing around the Common Room. "7 o'clock!" it boomed. With a start, I recognized Crabbe's voice. "Everyone is to be in their Common Rooms! Whoever is not will be given detention!"

"Who let him talk?" I asked.

"He's Head Boy," said Lavender. "And Pansy Parkinson is Head Girl."

I clenched my teeth. Great. That was just what we needed.

"Today," Crabbe continued, "the House Points stand at 500 for Slytherin, 20 for Ravenclaw, 0 for Hufflepuff, and -1000 for Gryffindor. Goodnight, Hogwarts!"

The Common Room erupted in protests as Crabbe finished. "Negative 1000?" I heard somebody shout. "That's not even possible!"

I rolled my eyes. "We'd better get used to it," I muttered angrily. "I'm going upstairs. See you all in the morning."

I trudged up the stairs to the sixth-year girls dorm and fell on my bed.

Saturday couldn't come soon enough.


	3. Chapter 3: Luna

**[Terribly sorry this took so long to upload! I had a way harder time with Luna's voice than Ginny or Neville's, and I've been suffering from an awful case of Writer's Block. Hopefully the next won't take quite so long. Please read and review! Thank you so much for reading this and I hope you enjoy!]**

Chapter 3

Luna

Daddy's answer to my letter came on Thursday. It was delivered at breakfast by a beautiful barn owl, whose feathers Daddy had charmed to make them blue. I stroked the owl as I read the letter.

_Luna Dear,_

_Great work, spotting the Heliopath! I'm very proud of you! I'll be sure to put it in an article in the next issue._

_Are you wearing your Aguamenti charm on your necklace? If there are Heliopaths on the grounds, that charm might be the only thing that will keep them away from you. You could give them to your friends as well-do you have enough, or do you need me to send you more?_

_I may have the opportunity to acquire the horn of a Crumple-Horned Snorkack soon! If all goes well, I'll be able to show it to you when you come home for Christmas!_

_Write me again if you see any more Heliopaths or any other suspicious creatures._

_I love you very much and miss you._

_Daddy._

I missed him very much as well.

"That's an interesting owl."

I looked up. Padma Patil had sat down beside me. A girl with short golden-red hair that I'd seen around but never spoken to was sitting on Padma's other side.

I smiled at her. "It's from my father. You know, Xenophilius Lovegood? He's the editor of the Quibbler. He's a brilliant wizard, very good with Charms and such."

The girl sitting beside Padma snickered. Padma glared at her.

I like Padma, she's very kind. I admit, however, that I was surprised to find myself talking to her. She's a very shy girl, and while I often see her reading in the library with her red-haired friend, I've never spoken to her outside of D.A. meetings.

Padma scooted a little closer to me, glancing around suspiciously. "Luna, you're friends with Ginny Weasley, right?"

"Yes," I answered, sticking my fork into my scrambled eggs and taking a bite. They were delicious, as always. One of my favorite parts of Hogwarts is the food. Take the pudding, for instance. It's delicious. I do wish they made Plimpy Soup here, however. My father has a fabulous recipe.

"Well, Parvati told me that Ginny and Neville are the ones who are," Padma lowered her voice still further, "who are restarting the D.A."

"That's true."

"Well, I was wondering if you could ask Ginny if I can bring Morag here to the meeting on Saturday."

I looked up from my plate of eggs, mildly intrigued. Padma's friend smiled at me, somewhat nervously. "I don't see why she couldn't come."

"Well, I know that we're supposed to be all secretive, especially now that the Carrows are in charge, and-"

"Do you trust Morag?" I asked.

Padma seemed surprised. "Yes, with my life!"

"Then she can come." I went back to my eggs.

"Cool." Padma sat in silence for a while. I continued chewing my eggs. "Um, well...bye, Luna. See you Saturday, I guess."

"Bye, Padma," I said, still not looking up. "Goodbye, Morag."

I think she was a little surprised by that, although I'm not sure why. Padma had said her name, after all. "Oh!" Morag had a deep, warm voice that was somewhat musical. "Yeah, I'll see you Saturday." They walked off together.

Life continued on. After the first few days, I think many people had been expecting Professor Snape and the Carrows to be torturing people in the corridors every day, or something. But things got better rather than worse. I think that perhaps the promise of the D.A. meeting on Saturday helped Ginny cool her firey-head and keep her tongue in front of the Carrows. Without the leadership of her and others, the younger students were more submissive too. The Carrows seemed to have decided that their punishments were working and were almost giddy with delight the whole week. The only one still showing outward rebellion was Peeves, the poltergeist-whose mischief seemed to be focused more on the Carrows, Snape, Filch, and the Slytherins rather than everyone in the castle.

Every night, Crabbe or Pansy came over the loudspeaker, telling about new rules-many of which I remembered from the days of Umbridge- and how Slytherin had outlandish amounts of points and the rest of the houses barely had any. On Thursday evening, Pansy also announced that anyone wishing to join the "Guardians of Purity" should speak to her, Crabbe, or the Carrows. There was much annoyed muttering among some of the Ravenclaws when this was announced. "It's the Inquisitorial Squad all over again," I heard Terry Boot say.

I wrote Daddy back, telling him that I hadn't seen any more heliopaths, and that the Nargles weren't quite as bad this year-I'd only lost a few of my possessions. I also told him about my classes, and how they were harder now that I'm a N.E.W.T. student, but less hard than I'd expected. Daddy had been very proud of my O.W.L.s, even though he always told me that grades don't matter. But I was proud, too-no letter lower than an E, and O's in Charms, Transfiguration, Care of Magical Creatures, Astronomy, and Ancient Runes. I still wasn't quite sure what I wanted to do after I graduated Hogwarts. Daddy wanted me to take over the Quibbler, but I've never really liked writing or any of that. I'd rather be out in the world, traveling to strange places. Perhaps a reporter for the Quibbler would do nicely.

Finally, Saturday came. I finished my homework in the morning, had a lovely lunch, and set off the wander the grounds, visit the thestrals and give them the apples I'd saved from breakfast, maybe go down by the lake.

My mind was miles ahead of me, already nearing the forest, when I was stopped at the front door by Filch. "No students outside without a teacher."

"No students outside?" I was taken aback. "Why not?"

"Too dangerous. New rule, just in this morning." Flich gave a wicked grin. "I've got the documentation right here, if you don't believe me."

I believed him. Crushed, I turned and walked away from the door. I couldn't go outside? This was awful! My poor thestrals, what would they do without me? And the other creatures, too? I'd seen a golden unicorn colt last spring, I'd wanted to see how it was doing. I loved the castle, but I couldn't stay shut up inside all year, I just couldn't!

I stopped in the middle of the foyer, my mind racing. I could already see three ways that I could maybe manage to get out of the castle. Filch and the Carrows couldn't guard all the exits, after all. Maybe they didn't even know about some of them-most people didn't.

But then I looked up at the clock. It was quarter to two-plenty of time for a quick walk around the grounds, but not near enough time for an outlandish escape. With a sigh, I set aside my plans.

I did wander around the castle for the next hour, though, checking out the changes. The portraits seemed for subdued than I remembered. More of them were just sitting in their frames staring off into space than visiting with each other or even talking to me. I even caught sight of one or two of them hastily wiping their eyes so I wouldn't see their tears. And this scared me more than anything else I'd seen, even the Dementors. Many of the paintings had been at Hogwarts since the beginning, and they weren't easily scared.

At half past two, I made my way to the Room of Requirement. I checked to make sure no one was watching, then opened the door and slipped inside. Ginny was already there, practicing hexes on one of the target dummies lined up against the wall.

The Room of Requirement was even more impressive than I remembered it being two years ago, or even Tuesday. There were two whole bookcases stuffed with books about defensive spells, techniques, strategy, famous wars, anything. There was an entire corner devoted to Dark Detectors-sneakoscopes, secrecy sensors, a foe glass, and a few things I didn't even recognize. The wall to my left was lined with training dummies. The cushions I remembered were in the middle of the room. On the far wall was an enormous tapestry with the Hogwarts crest on it, and Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, and Hufflepuff colors decorated the rest of the room.

"Wow, Ginny!" I said enthusiastically. "How did you get it to do this?"

Ginny blasted the dummy with a hex that sent it spinning across the room before falling down, completely immobilized. She turned to me, a satisfied smile across her face. "Actually, Neville had it like this when I got here. He's behind a bookcase somewhere. Nev?" The last word was half-shouted.

Neville's head poked up from behind a bookcases. His eyes were shining. "Sorry! But look at all these amazing books! I'll never say that books are boring again! I bet this room could give us any book we could ever want to read!"

Ginny rolled her eyes. I smiled.

The door opened. Hannah Abbott and Ernie Macmillan walked in. Hannah's jaw dropped when she saw the room. "Wow, Ginny, Luna, this is amazing!"

Neville practically ran out from behind the bookcase. "I did most of it, actually. There was nothing to it, I just told the room what we needed and it did it."

"That's so cool!" Hannah beamed at him. Ginny and Ernie glanced at each other and rolled their eyes. I smiled.

More and more people trickled in over the next half-hour. Colin Creevey was one of the first to arrive, his camera clicking as he tried to photograph everything.

"Do you really think that's wise, Colin?" Ginny asked, watching him document their illegal activities.

"Oh, don't worry, Ginny, this camera is never out of my sight!" Colin grinned. Ginny sighed, shaking her head in resignation.

Seamus, who had been released from the hospital wing on Thursday, came in holding hands with Parvati Patil. Lavender Brown and Susan Bones were right behind them, talking animatedly. The three Ravenclaw boys from the year above me came in together, as always. Padma and Morag were last to arrive, Morag looking nervous and uncomfortable.

At three, Ginny counted everyone in the room. "Fifteen," she whispered to Neville and me. "Is that everyone?"

"Actually, there were only supposed to be fourteen...Padma brought a friend," I answered.

"Go ahead and get started," Neville said.

Ginny stood. "Well, welcome everyone!"

A chorus of hellos answered her. Everyone was smiling and looking happier than I'd seen them look all year. And I understood exactly how they felt. This room felt more like Hogwarts-the old Hogwarts-than the rest of the castle put together.

"We're meeting here to discuss the reforming of Dumbledore's Army."

"We're going to start again, of course!" Seamus said. Everyone cheered.

"No, wait a second." Padma held up a hand. "Before we charge right into this, stop and think. This could be really dangerous. If the Carrows ever found out-"

"We'd make sure they wouldn't! And even if they did, it would be worth it!" her twin broke in.

The room erupted into noise and chattering.

"Guys! GUYS!" Ginny shouted. Everyone stopped and looked over at her. "I don't think the question is whether or not to restart the D.A. If anyone's opposed to it, they should speak up now."

No one moved.

"I think the question instead is what the purpose of the group should be and what rules we should come up with to keep us safe."

"We're not afraid to get caught!" said Colin enthusiastically.

"But if we die, that won't do anyone any good," Neville chimed in.

"The Carrows wouldn't kill us, would they?" Hannah asked.

"They might," Ginny said grimly.

Everyone was quiet for a moment.

"Look," said Neville finally. "All we're saying is that we've got to be careful with this. So no doing what Seamus did on the first night."

"Yeah, definitely don't do that!" Seamus called, making everyone laugh.

"And I think we should try not to call attention to ourselves, especially at first. We don't want them to be able to pick us out from the crowd."

"Well, they might be able to anyway," said Anthony Goldstein.

"What do you mean?" Neville asked.

"All of us were part of the D.A. last time-well, except for Morag. And when we got caught by Umbridge, they found that list of all our names. If they realize the D.A. has been restarted, we'll be the first ones they'll check."

Neville, Ginny, and I exchanged a glance. We hadn't realized we all had a criminal record.

"I don't know about the rest of you," said Lavender, "but for me, just having a group like this to meet once in a while would be a huge encouragement. We don't need to do huge displays of rebellion-at least, not very often."

Around the room, people were nodding agreement.

"Maybe it would be safe to say that the goals of this group are these: To help each other stand up under the reign of evil in our home, to cling to each other so that we bend but are not broken, and to be a voice of light in the darkness."

All of us stared in surprise at Terry Boot. "Wow, Terry," said Ginny, "that was kind of...amazing. Do you guys think that should be our motto?"

Everyone cheered.

"Great!" Neville said. "Someone should write that down!"

"On it." Susan Bones pulled out a parchment and quill. At the top, she wrote Dumbledore's Army in large, elegant letters. Beneath that, she wrote Terry's motto. She looked up. "We need a leader. And maybe a few rules."

Hannah Abbott rolled her eyes. "You and your rules," she said teasingly.

"Rules are the bedrock of a strong society," said Susan primly. Everyone laughed.

"I think Ginny and Neville should be our leaders," said Lavender. "They're the ones who started this, after all."

"Luna, too," said Ginny, looking at me.

Lavender nodded. "All in favor of Luna, Ginny, and Neville being our leaders?"

Everyone cheered again. I was a little surprised, to be honest: usually people didn't pay much attention to me, except maybe to laugh. But now they were all cheering for me. It was a strange feeling, but a good one.

Susan wrote: Leaders: Neville Longbottom, Ginevra Weasley, and Luna Lovegood. "Now what about rules?"

"I think the first rule should be: support and help each other rather than tearing each other down," Parvati said. "There's too much going on outside to be fighting inside."

"All in favor?" Ginny asked.

Everyone said aye. Susan wrote it on her parchment. "What else?"

"No members younger than fifth year," said Ernie Macmillan. "It's too dangerous."

Colin Creevey murmured agreement. "Dennis wanted to come, but I told him not to."

Michael Corner disagreed. "They should be allowed to if they want to. Some of us were fourth years last time."

"But this is different from last time," Padma pointed out. "This is way more serious. People could actually get hurt."

"Harry had to carve words into the back of his own hand almost every night when Umbridge was here!" said Ginny hotly. "And he was only a fifth year!"

"Yes, Ginny, but not all of us can be Harry Potter," said Lavender teasingly.

Ginny laughed. "Okay. All in favor of Ernie's rule?"

Most of the group said aye.

"All opposed?"

Michael, Hannah, Parvati, and Ginny said nay. "Majority rules," said Neville. Susan wrote it down.

We came up with a few more rules. Finally Padma looked up at a clock hanging above the training dummies. "Everyone, it's almost time for dinner! We'd better hurry if we don't want to be missed."

"Wait," said Hannah. "First I think we should all sign the paper, like we did last time."

"Is there a jinx on it this time?" Anthony asked.

Ginny shook her head. "But if we can't trust each other, we can't trust anyone. I think Hannah's right."

Everyone signed the paper, gathered up their things, and began to leave, alone or in groups of two. Finally, there was no one in the room but Neville, Ginny, me, and Padma and Morag.

Padma and Morag both signed the paper. Then Padma looked up. "Neville? Morag has an idea."

"Oh?" We all drew closer to the two Ravenclaws. Morag took a deep breath. "I think you need a spy."

"What do you mean?" Ginny asked.

"I mean I want to go offer to join the Guardians of Purity or whatever they're called. I want to be your spy."

Neville and Ginny looked at each other incredulously. Then they looked at me, then Padma, then Morag. "Wow..." said Neville. "That's, um..."

"Really, really smart!" said Ginny. "I can't believe we didn't think of it."

"There's a reason she's in Ravenclaw," said Padma smugly.

"Actually, I was about to say incredibly dangerous," said Neville. "Morag, if you got caught they might kill you!"

"No they wouldn't. I have connections-my parents are some of the wealthiest pure-blood wizards in Northern England. We live right down the street from the Parkinsons."

"Wait, as in Pansy Parkinson?" said Ginny incredulously.

Morag nodded. "I used to play with her all the time when we were kids. We were best friends-until she got sorted into Slytherin and I got sorted into Ravenclaw. We sort of grew apart. Now she's a-well, a you-know-what. But I don't think my parents would be keen on me getting killed and Pansy not stopping it."

"You've really thought this through, haven't you?" said Neville.

"Ever since Professor Dumbledore died last year. Look, I know the risks. I'm ready."

"She should do it," I said. "It's her decision."

Everyone looked at me as if they'd forgotten I was there. Neville nodded thoughtfully. "But how do we know you won't sell us out?"

Morag looked him in the eyes. "Trust me, I won't."

"Trust me," Padma put in. "I've known her since first year and she won't betray us."

"Okay." Neville stuck out his hand. "Morag McDougall, welcome to the Army."


	4. Chapter 4: Ginny

__**[This was my favorite chapter to write so far, and I think you'll see why once you start reading. I've already starting working on Chapter 5. Enjoy, and please tell me what you think!]**

_Chapter 4_

_Ginny_

At dinner after the D.A. meeting, I couldn't stop smiling! It had felt so good just to be in a room filled with people who wanted the same things I did. I hadn't felt that way since the wedding. I hadn't been that happy since Harry left.

I really wanted to just sit down in the middle of all the Gryffindors that had been at the meeting, but we'd decided that if we all sat together all the time, it would look a bit suspicious. Neville was sitting by Seamus and Parvati, who were acting like a proper couple now, holding hands and sitting very close to one another. I thought about sitting with the other girls from my year, but as I watched them giggling and flirting with the boys, I couldn't think of anything I'd like less.

Then I spotted Colin sitting by himself at the end of the table and grinned.

Colin's camera sat beside his place as he bit into a leg of chicken. "Hi, Ginny," he said through a mouthful of poultry.

"Hey, Colin!" I scooped some mashed potatoes onto my plate. "How are you?"

"Better than I was."

"Me too." Suddenly, something occurred to me. I glanced around, then leaned closer to Colin. "Colin, aren't you Muggle-born?"

Colin was obviously taken aback. He nodded, trying to look casual.

"But then how-"

"Am I here?" Colin shrugged. "I faked our family tree. It helps that Dennis and I are both wizards-usually you don't get two in one family. Actually, as it turns out, my grandpa was a Squib. So I just pretended that my dad's a wizard too. I dunno how long it'll last, but I needed to come back to Hogwarts. Surely you understand."

I nodded. "But geez, Colin, if you get caught-"

"What other choice do I have?" Colin looked grim for a moment. Then his face broke into it's usual grin. "Hey, I took this amazing photo of Seamus and Parvati during the meeting today. They were listening to Susan, both their faces turned to the left. I took it so that the Gryffindor banner was behind them and the light was shining on their faces just right. They were holding hands, too, so that you have this cool triangle effect..."

I just kept chewing my chicken and let Colin talk.

The next morning, I sat with Parvati and Lavender at breakfast. "Where's Seamus?" I asked Parvati.

"He had to go talk to McGonagall about his Transfiguration homework," said Parvati around a mouthful of cereal.

Just as I was about to bite into my toast, George's screech owl, Loki, flew down to my plate. He held out a letter tied to his leg. As I reached out to grab it, he pulled his leg away.

"Loki," I said exasperatedly. Parvati and Lavender were both laughing. Padma came over to show Parvati something her parents had sent them and started to giggle too. Loki hooted, looking pleased. I rolled my eyes. Stupid owl.

I tore a piece off my toast and held it out. As Loki reached for it, I grabbed his leg and ripped off the letter. He hooted angrily at me and flew off in a rush of wings.

Rolling my eyes, I opened the letter:

_Ginny-_

_Good Morning. How Are you?_

_We're all well here. With Ron sick with spattergroit, there's still Alot of noise at home. This time of year, it's Usually pretty quiet. _

_Mom and Dad send their love. They miss you alot-Everyone does, in fact. It's not the same without our Red-haired little Sister._

_We think ron May be getting better. After All, he's been sick for a while. But you never can tell with spattergroit, it frequently Pops back up just when you Think it's gone._

_Bill says hi too. He tells us that Recently, he and fluer moved to their new home. They say It's a wonderful place._

_We've also heard from Charlie. He's back in england now, but he says he misses the dragons, especially his favorite King's-crest hatchling._

_Missing our sister,_

_Fred and George._

"Hmmmm..." I said to myself.

"What?" Parvati and Padma asked at the same time.

"This letter from my brothers. It doesn't sound like them." I passed the letter to Parvati. Lavender and Padma leaned over her shoulders to read it.

Parvati looked up. "Yeah, you're right. No stupid jokes."

"And the wording is weird too," Lavender began. "Something about their sentence structure. Or-"

Parvati snapped her fingers. "I know! It's the capitals. They're all wrong, in a way that's too crazy for even Fred and George."

"But it looks like such a normal letter-wait a second." I looked up at Padma. She was wearing a very smug smile.

"Now you've got it."

"But-give me that letter." I reached across the table and snatched it from Parvati.

"Hey!" she protested, but my eyes were already skimming over the page. G-M-H-A-W-W...

I slumped, deflated. "No, that's not it."

Padma raised an eyebrow. That smug look was really starting to bug me. I looked back down at the letter. "Unless...maybe the capitals that are supposed to be there don't count. Maybe..." I started again. M-A-R-A-U-D-E-R "YES!" I gasped.

"SHHHHHHH!" Parvati, Padma, and Lavender hissed.

"Sorry!" I whispered back, glancing nervously up at the head table. No one was looking our way. My eyes flew over the rest of the letter, noting all the capitals except for the ones at the beginning of each sentence. M-A-R-A-U-D-E-R-S-M-A-P-T-R-I-C-K-F-G.

"Marauder's map..." I silently mouthed the words to myself. Of course I remembered the map-it was Harry's. Ron, Hermione and I used it last year during the battle to find our way around and see where the fight was. But trick? What trick? Unless...

I stood up, hitting my knee on the bench. "I'll see you later, okay?" I waved to Lavender, Parvati, and Padma and ran the entire way to the girl's dormitory. I almost got caught by Mrs. Norris, but I managed to jump behind a suit of armor before she saw me.

Finally I reached the Fat Lady. "Morgan LeFay!" I gasped.

She raised an eyebrow. "Shouldn't you be in class?"

"I have first free." A lie, and one that I would probably pay for later, but right now nothing was more important than figuring out that letter!

I took the steps up to the sixth-year dorm two at a time and pulled the door shut behind me. "Colloportus!" I muttered, locking the door just in case someone else decided to skip class.

I sat down on my bed, pulling my wand from a pocket of my robes. I laid the tip against the letter. Now what was it Ron had said to get the map to work? Oh yes: "I solemnly swear I am up to no good."

For a moment, nothing happened. Then the ink began to move, flowing across the page as if it were alive, forming new letters and words and sentences. I was reading the new letter before the ink had even finished moving:

_Ginny-Pig-_

_Ha! I told Fred that you'd be able to figure it out! He thought maybe you wouldn't, but I knew._

**Yeah, yeah, don't get full of it, Georgie. This was my idea in the first place, remember?**

_Whatever. Anyway, good job cracking our code, sis!_

I was grinning from ear to ear. No one could cheer me up better than the twins.

_You'll never guess who taught this charm to us-_

**It was Lupin, of all people-he was over for dinner and I said how I wished we could send you a letter-you know, to encourage you and the others-and he said he thought he could help us. Isn't it brilliant? George even managed to install an alert so that as soon as you figure out the code and break the charm, we'll know.**

**We're all fine here-really. Dad's still held onto his job at the Ministry, which is a shock to all of us. We thought for sure they'd have sacked him by now. Guess they're going by the "keep your enemies close" method. Bill's living at Shell Cottage with Fluer. Charlie's got an apartment in the north, doing something involving the Order and dragons.**

_We're keeping the joke shop open as long as we can, but doing some stuff for the Order on the side. Percy's still the world's biggest prat, we still haven't heard anything from Ron, and Mum's still a nervous wreck._

_We'd like to tell you all about You-Know-Who and what he's up to, but we can't. Something about compromising security and what would happen if Snape got ahold of this letter._

**We tried to tell Dad that you'd never let that happen, but he forbade it-for now at least. **

_Anyway, the real purpose of this letter was just to give you a head's up: we're sending you some things._

**I mean, you're restarting the D.A., aren't you? Wipe that surprised look off your face, it's what we'd have done and you are our sister, after all. We're sending you some of our merchandise. Don't worry, Dad's helping us with a charm to get it past Filch. Just don't open it in the Great Hall, or your dorm. The Room of Requirement should do.**

_We're really proud of you, Ginny-the whole Order is, in fact. I know you can't write back (we're working on a way for you to contact us, but nothing yet.) but we miss you-honest._

**Keep on fighting, sis! Keep your chin up and don't lose hope, whatever you do! Anything is possible, remember that!**

**Love from,**

**Fred** _and George._

I looked up from the letter, still smiling. Merlin, I missed my brothers. I wished I had them and Bill and Mum and Dad and Charlie and even annoying Ron with me now. I'd never been this far away from my family, not ever. And I couldn't even write to them and tell them what was on my mind, because that would get all of us in trouble.

But they could write to me! And they missed me and were thinking of me! And they were going to send us some stuff! I started imagining what could possibly be in that package. Knowing Fred and George, it was going to be fantastic!

Hagrid didn't even care that I'd missed half his class. He just winked at me when I showed up and continued talking about Occamies. I walked over to Luna. "What'd I miss?" I whispered.

She turned to me. "Not much. You really should be more careful, you know."

I waved her off. "Emergency."

"Getting a letter is not an emergency. What if you'd been caught? You could have gotten all of us in trouble-people know we're your friends."

I glanced down, ashamed. "Sorry."

"Just remember you're not the only one who's life you're risking."

The package didn't arrive for a week. Monday morning-the same morning as the second D.A. meeting, Loki appeared again. This time, he was carrying a small box, about the size of my fist.

After a minute or two of tug and war with an owl, I managed to wrest the package from him.

"Who's that from?" Neville asked, glancing up from his N.E.W.T. Charms textbook.

"Fred and George!" I whispered excitedly, handing Loki a bite of toast. "It's stuff for the mee-"

"Hello, Professor Carrow!" Seamus interrupted loudly.

"Good morning, Mr. Finnigan," said Amycus Carrow in his low, sinister voice. "And you, Miss Weasley. Might I see that package of yours?"

"No!" I blurted out.

Amycus raised an eyebrow. "No?" He held out his hand.

I forced my arm to move and place the little package into it. This was it. It was all over.

Neville's knuckles clutching the Charms book were white. He let go of the book with his left hand and casually slid it into the pocket of his robes. Seamus was looking at Carrow with a bland expression, but a muscle was pulsing in his temple. One of his hands was clutching something under the table.

My heart sank. Oh, guys, please don't try to rescue me, I willed them silently. You'll only get yourselves in trouble.

I looked around. Half the Gryffindor table was watching us. Don't do anything! I thought as hard as I could.

My heart pounding, I turned back to Carrow just as he opened the box and turned it upside down.

Two things fell out: a tiny slip of paper and something wrapped in gold paper.

I picked up the paper. Miss you, Sis! -Fred and George.

I looked up as Carrow ripped the paper off the other object. "Chocolate?!" he said incredulously.

"Yes, chocolate," I said, fighting a smile. "Were you expecting fireworks, perhaps?"

Carrow glared at me. I could almost feel killing curses shooting out of his eyes. He leaned in close. "I don't know how you slipped away this time, Weasley, but I'm watching you. I've heard a lot about your family lately."

My blood ran cold. "What do you mean?" I whispered.

"Oh, just that it won't be long before one of you goes down. We're tracking every last one of you filthy blood traitors, and your coward of a boyfriend, too."

I jumped to my feet, my face hot. "You-"

"Miss Weasley!" Professor McGonagall was hurrying down the row between the tables. "I'm glad I found you, I'd like a word about your Transfiguration grade. If you'll excuse us, Amycus." She put an arm around my shoulder and hustled me toward the big doors and out of the Great Hall.

"What are you doing, Professor?" I whispered angrily.

"Saving you from yourself, Miss Weasley!" snapped McGonagall. "Honestly, I would think you'd show a little more sense."

"Did you hear what he said about my family? And about Harry? Harry's the bravest person in the world, that git has no right-"

"For Merlin's sake girl, pick your battles! You're just going to get yourself killed! Don't go back into that hall, just go to your first class and wait there for ten minutes, try to cool your head!" McGonagall spun on her heel and marched back into the Great Hall.

For a moment, I considered following her, storming right back in and giving Amycus Carrow a piece of my mind. Then I sighed. McGonagall was right. If I continued like this, I'd only get myself and a bunch of other people hurt.

I started off for Charms, but halfway there I stopped in my tracks. Oh no! I'd completely forgotten the package!

I turned and sprinted back toward the Great Hall, cursing my own stupidity-and nearly ran straight into Neville.

He smiled wryly. "Forget something?"

"Thank you! Thank you thank you thank you!" I gasped as he placed the little parcel and the paper in my hand.

He shrugged. "Amycus ate the chocolate. But I'm guessing you don't care about that."

I shook my head. "Decoy. We'll figure it out later."

Neville nodded. "See you later then. Oh, and Ginny..."

"Yeah?"

"Could you maybe try to be a little more careful?"

I looked down, ashamed. "Yeah."

He smiled and walked away.


End file.
